2010 C30 needs replacement engine, which engine should I get

[Tannaton]

I've come to this thread late so not read all the detail but I'm pretty sure the first thing you need is another (honest) garage.

Then I would suggest the next step is to take the car back to standard (CAT & DPF, standard or known good remap) and go from there.

The symptoms you describe are usually easy to diagnose via driving, smell, oil consumption, smoke colour etc.

[Sasha94]

Originally Posted by aimeecakes01

The second remap (the one to fix the bad one i bought it with) was done to stop the black smoke. At that point the engine management light was coming on but only if you stalled the car. Once restarted the light disappeared. He then suggested I take it to this garage to go and have it checked over because it was still smoking but white smoke now. These guys decided it must be the dpf that's causing all the smoke so took it out. At this point i thought it was only frowned upon to have it taken out and didn't think anything of it. When I got the car back it was still smoking and the engine management light was on permanently. They told me to take it back to the guy who remapped it (they do a lot of business together) and he would recode the car to no longer read a dpf and in turn that should get rid of the light and the car would slowly stop smoking. He did an ecu recode but couldn't get the engine management light off but said to try filling the dpf fluid.
This was when I took it to the Volvo specialist who did all of his tests and stripped the turbo. This specialist has zero idea why the car is smoking and suggested a replacement engine. At the cost of £6000 plus labour!!
I now know, thank you by the way, that it's illegal to have the dpf removed so considering going back to the garage and making them put another one in. It was then who did my mot as well.
I'm considering now taking it somewhere else again to have it looked at. If I can spare having the engine replaced I would feel much better about it all

Okie dokes, deffo sounds like some kind of dodgy DPF gutting place who don't have a clue how to write DPF deletes!! I have to be a cynic but I wouldn't trust an MoT from a place that has made such an epic fail of attempting to repair the car because it's very easy to just put the emissions probe on another car to get a reading. Obviously that's a wild claim to make, especially by some random girl on the internet, but the cynic in me would be sceptical of a clean MoT unless the car was categorically running well when it was being tested. The occasional smoke could be linked to the car trying to run a regen cycle and it obviously can't because there's no DPF to regen.

DPF's have come down in price massively in recent years and are cheap enough to change over these days, if it were my car I'd go back to the standard engine map, test it with a good/new DPF installed and take it from there. Do you know what the condition of the old DPF was like when it was removed? 54k is a low mileage for a DPF to be beyond saving.

I understand now why the Volvo specialist first dismantled the turbo as black some usually points to the turbo but now it's changed to being white it speaks to me as if the engine map is just rubbish and the fueling and timing is probably all over the shop. If you can, take it back to standard and try again.

One thing to remember is, costs can still run away from you here, work out the spend and cost it all up first. It may be cheaper (and certainly eaiser) to get rid of the car and buy one that runs properly. When they are going well they're not a bad motor the 1.6. I've had loads of them and my current 8 valver is performing well as we go over 130k.

[iainmd]

Completely agree with the above two posts.

1. Get a DPF put back in and the EOLYS fluid tank filled (Likely to cost about £600)
2. Take it to a Volvo garage and get the software reloaded and all faults read then cleared. If, upon a test drive, faults re-appear get them to print the outstanding faults and report back to us all.

Sadly the approximate £600 bill would have been about £150 just to fill the additive tank if the dodgy garage hadn't taken your DPF out. Much as I'm sure you may want the remap, as long as its there you can never discount its involvement in your problem so going back to factory software once the car has been rectified is your best starting point.

[Bloders2]

good call, could be trying to regen the dpf if it has not been removed correctly.
Personally, to make progress first id get a proper remap/dpf removal done first.
if you then want to abide by the law etc fit a dpf at that stage.

does the smoke smell of diesel then? indicating a regen attempt...
I doubt a new engine would actually fi xanything, as you would retain your old ecu, with the map and lack of dpf on it etc, so id put that out of your mind

[iainmd]

Originally Posted by Bloders2

good call, could be trying to regen the dpf if it has not been removed correctly.
Personally, to make progress first id get a proper remap/dpf removal done first.
if you then want to abide by the law etc fit a dpf at that stage.

does the smoke smell of diesel then? indicating a regen attempt...
I doubt a new engine would actually fi xanything, as you would retain your old ecu, with the map and lack of dpf on it etc, so id put that out of your mind

The OP had said they had had another remap to remove the dpf but problems persist. Hence the only way you can start from a common denominator is to go back to stock ECU software.

[Bloders2]

Originally Posted by iainmd

The OP had said they had had another remap to remove the dpf but problems persist. Hence the only way you can start from a common denominator is to go back to stock ECU software.

several ways of approaching it.
personally, i would not want to pay for a remap (to stock) and a dpf witht the potential it may still not be right. Id be looking to truly identify the issue cheapest way, and then build back up afterwards.
There are remaps, and remaps. Id get a stock map downloaded, then remap to remove teh DPF.

EAch to their own of course, a stock map is one valid way of approaching it.

[aimeecakes01]

This advice is really helpful thank you guys. I've discussed it with the other half this evening and I'm bending towards taking it somewhere to have a proper recode of the Ecu. I definitely don't think the dpf delete has been performed correctly. I'm concerned the car is still flagging as empty dpf fluid when there's no dpf there anymore 🤔
The garage that took the dpf out said it was badly blocked and couldn't be saved but again I'm only taking their word on it. I'll speak to them again tomorrow and see what I can get out of them.
In all fairness the remap isn't essential and if I'd have anticipated this many problems I'd have just had the bad remap removed and not even bothered with another one.
I fear no matter what I'm going to have to whip my money tree out for this one!

[Tannaton]

All I would add is that if you keep the car modified (remap and PDF/cat delete) then the number of garages who are experienced/capable of working on it with predictable results is much smaller. It wouldn't surprise me if the Volvo dealer declined to undertake certain work to protect their own reputation. With the car back to standard, future repairs will be lower risk and more predictable.

It's one thing to remap a car to improve the power output - and even Volvo offer this themselves to some models via the Polestar brand. But it's another level again to alter the decision making and processes of the ECU - I.e. DPF delete.

[Welton]

I have read all these posts and I don't think you need a new engine, not unless your current engine is totally goosed (knocking, over-pressurising the coolant, low on compression etc).

It sounds like the DPF fluid is still being injected and without the DPF 'filter' in place you're getting this white smoke, although that is just my take on it.

Not having the DPF filter is not the end of the world if you still have the 'casing' in place (assuming the filter has been smashed out from inside) most diesels will still pass the MOT without a DPF because, presently, they only test for smoke levels; not the quality of the exhaust gas itself.

I think you should approach a specialist re-map/tuning house for advice, temporarily you should make sure the DPF related software is totally off and then think about what sort of 'map' the ECU is currently running (there are good and bad ones, bad ones generate black smoke and put the fuel pump under too much strain etc). It is possible to run a DPF-deleted modern diesel with a mild re-map on the fueling side and for it to be totally reliable and usable.

[iainmd]

Originally Posted by Welton

I think you should approach a specialist re-map/tuning house for advice, temporarily you should make sure the DPF related software is totally off and then think about what sort of 'map' the ECU is currently running (there are good and bad ones, bad ones generate black smoke and put the fuel pump under too much strain etc). It is possible to run a DPF-deleted modern diesel with a mild re-map on the fueling side and for it to be totally reliable and usable.

My only concern with that approach is that most reputable tuning houses won't touch a car's map unless the car is healthy in the first place. I'd still opt for restore to stock and put the DPF back but that's just what I'd do in that situation.